1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wall-contained housing and installation jig for plumbing valves and, more particularly, to a rectangularly-shaped housing and installation jig having a vandal-proof, separable cover for preventing unauthorized access to the housed plumbing valve.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, prior art units have been boxes having hinged, lockable access covers, wherein the access boxes have been formed of relatively heavy and expensive cast metal material.
Additionally, such units, because of the non-separable access covers, had to be precisely fitted to the wall by a front wall reference thereby leaving the rearward portion thereof either extended beyond the rear face of the wall to which the plumbing valve access box was mounted or was short of the wall depth. If too long, it created an obstruction in the pipe case area behind the wall; if too short, a portion of the access box was not supportive of the entire wall thereabove it, thereby creating a weakness therewith.
Other prior art units were formed inexpensively of sheet metal. However, these units did not offer vandal-proof access covers, nor did such units incorporate means for referencing or locating the valve from the rearward portion of the box. Further, such sheet metal units did not employ self-ruggedizing means for substantially improving the strength of the box portion of the housing forming the plumbing valve access box. Still further, these prior art units did not offer the wall installation convenience of adaptably installing the cover thereto regardless of a substantial variation in the distance between the forwardmost rim of the box and the forward face of the building wall in which the box portion of the plumbing valve access box is installed. The forward face of the building wall herein referred to is that which is accessible from the user's side of the wall.
Another feature not found in prior art devices includes the failure to incorporate as part of the re-inforcement means for the box structure, the threaded receptacles for receiving the security bolts for removably anchoring the cover to the box.